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Got to see 'The Funhouse' for the first time this week. I thought it was fantastic. The film just has such an atmosphere to it. I loved the build up to the end. It does a great job of showing you a glimpse of the characters and what motivates them. Kevin Conway really steals the show, at least for me. Any time he was on screen I was drawn in and completely focused on his creepy, off-putting vibe, and that voice. '..alive, alive, alive..'

So, I've watched 3 Tobe Hooper films this month, basically for the first time for all 3 (watched the original TCM twice, had to double dip for 4K version). My biggest takeaway has got to be that Hooper has this ability to build up to the highest of high climax points. He makes you think that things can't get any more fucked up, then he takes you to the next level, then the next level. Once you're at the peak, there's so much going on on the screen. He's attacking your senses visually in so many ways, but there's also a ton of loud noises going on as well. While you can't believe the fucked up shit that you're seeing, you also have never heard the terrifying shrieks, screams, moans, and sounds that accompany these intense climactic moments. I don't know what it is, but Hooper got me to this point in all 3 movies I watched. Then just when I think my heart is going to beat out of my chest, he cuts to black, and I feel like Amy Harper walking out of The Funhouse, thinking to myself, my god, I feel like a changed person.

Scary Movie Month has quietly turned me into a Tobe Hooper and Dario Argento fan. Well not that quietly. My boyfriend is a little perplexed at the DVDs and Blues that have been arriving at the house. I have Texas Chainsaw 2 ready to go also Argento's Inferno and Opera. Plus The Beyond which I just picked up so it will be my first Fulci. And whole bunch more stuff I want to try and watch.

Not a horror movie, but I forgot how goddamn terrifying the flying monkeys are in The Wizard of Oz. Man, that movie is still fantastic after all these years...except for the Cowardly Lion. Anyone else feel he's a bit of a weak point? Especially "If I Were King of the Forest" in my opinion - it just stops that movie cold!

For some reason I've always thought Stephen King adaptations were more bad than good but I've been on a great run - started with It and Cat's Eye which were probably the weakest but still a lot of fun, then Cujo, Misery, The Shining (which just gets better every time I see it - probably the most dread-inducing movie I've watched all month), Salem's Lot (first time - really solid though it somehow never particularly feels like a King story or a Hooper movie), Carrie (masterpiece, obviously) and finally The Dead Zone which is really a fantastic movie - I have nothing bad to say about it other than, perhaps, it crams in a lot of plot in a short amount of time. And when I think of some of the ones I didn't watch - Pet Sematary, Christine, The Mist - they range from decent to great. So yeah, I don't know if it's because I originally watched them closer to having read the books and they're not particularly great adaptations but I mostly love em now.

The Dead Zone transitioned me into my next theme - David Cronenberg movies - a shamefully underwatched by me national treasure - with The Fly transitioning me into my final theme of awesome remakes that will have me finishing the month with Scream Factory's new The Thing. Can't believe it's almost over but it's been a much better SMM than last year with no (sorry Vargas!) Exorcist II taking me four nights to stay awake through!

God bless the Canadian film tax credits of the 70s and 80s that, combined with the sensibilities of the times, made great films like The Brood possible. It takes awhile to get there but man it gets there. I've been crazy to miss out on pre-The Fly Cronenberg - on to a first time viewing of Scanners (I know)!